1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cosmetic adornment. More specifically, it relates to manicures and pedicures. Even more specifically, it relates to an apparatus and method for drying fingernails or toenails with optimum efficiency when gauged against time and additionally provides improved assurance of sanitation for the customer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In beauty shops all over the country, one of the major sources of income is manicures and pedicures, i.e. the cleaning, toning, and polishing of the finger and/or toe nails. One of the problems inherent in the process is that persons with limited time, for example on their lunch hour, on the way home after work, on their way to pick up children from school or daycare, or merely out trying to get the shopping done, must wait on the premises of the shop until the polish dries or else (in the case of fingernails) risk ruining the finish that has been so painstakingly applied. In the case of the pedicure, unless living in a warm climate and wearing sandals or some other type of open-toed footwear, there is no choice at all--customers have to wait until the drying process has been completed before they can put on their stockings and shoes.
Another concern is that of fungi that can be trapped and spread around the periphery of the nails. In many states, there are laws requiring the beautician to provide, not necessarily a sterile, but a clean support surface for the customer's hand or foot while the polish is being applied. This custom is honored more in the breach than the observance, with busy shops only giving a cursory swipe at best, using a paper towel or the like.
Nail drying apparatus are well known in the art. In this discussion they are broken down into three groups.
The first group, listed below are nail polish dryers that utilize heat. As the present invention uses cooled air to dry the nail polish, these patents are not discussed in detail.
______________________________________ PATENT NO. INVENTOR ______________________________________ 2,184,858 Goodman 2,262,274 Fingerlin 2,734,282 Nemeth 3,287,824 Selditz 3,864,847 Friedman et al. 4,255,871 Sigman ______________________________________
The next three patents neither heat nor cool the air directed at the nails to be dried.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,389,822 issued on Nov. 27, 1945 to Paul G. Simmons, there is shown a nail polish dryer where separate finger receiving passages are provided for each finger and the thumb. Air is directed past the tips of the fingers and is vented from the device by outlets.
The next patent of interest in this group is U.S. Pat. No. 4,193,209 issued on Mar. 18, 1980 to Lovison et al. This discloses a fingernail dryer where the device is equipped with a handrest to aid in both the application of the polish and that is positioned such that air driven by a fan and deflected by the vanes 28 speeds the drying of the polish.
Lastly in this category is U.S. Pat. No. 5,084,984 issued on Feb. 4, 1992 to Christian Duchoud et al. In this patent there is shown a clamshell type of housing where, when the device is opened by tilting the cover back on its hinge axis, contact strips are brought together, providing power to a fan that drives air through the drying zone.
The last patent to be considered is U.S. Pat. No. 4,464,906 issued on Aug. 14, 1984 to Joyce Outlaw. In this patent, the air is cooled below ambient temperature before it is directed onto the fingernails. In the specification, the temperature discussed is between 45 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.